War Flute

Armati Half-Scale

The joys and virtues of 6 mm miniatures

Armati is designed for 15 mm and 25 mm toy soldiers, but there is another, small but perfectly formed alternative, 6 mm miniatures.

With these little jewels you can field dozens of micro-armies at a laughable cost. You are also allowed huge looking armies with -- thousands -- of miniatures. In both cases, 6 mm are quicker to paint - see http://www.baccus6mm.com for the best 6 mm painting guide on the Net. This wonderful scale is also more practical to store and, if you break a spear, I assure you that no one will notice. I consider 6 mm the best scale for wargaming (10 mm is very good too) and I found over the years several other gamers that think the same; and some are ex-25 mm converts!

There are two philosophies about 6 mm miniatures:
    A. use the same basing and table size of 15 mm or 25 mm, glue a bunch of 6 mm miniatures on the bases;
    B. reduce bases and table size, use more or less the same number of miniatures.

I have only a little space and not too much time to paint, I prefer option "B". My group is of the same opinion, so over the years we've collected dozens of "half-scale" Armati armies and happily play every Wednesday evening. Before you ask, I own 15 mm armies too, so I know what I'm missing.

The idea is to use the reduced Intro 15 mm gaming area ( 32"x20") and distances (1" = 1/3"), with all the Optimal rules for sections and units in depth. This gives a much better game!

Intro size is 1/2 Optimal size, so we halved the 15 mm scale bases, using the same number of 6 mm miniatures. We also found more practical to base the figures directly in sections, rather than in single stands.

The number of figures is my recommendation; it can vary if you use different manufacturers. Your options in the Ancient and Medieval ranges for 6 mm are Baccus (the best in my humble opinion), Irregular (not very detailed but paint well, and they have everything from Bronze Age to Late Medieval), and Heroic & Ros (tiny and even less detailed, but they have their fans). Note that figures from different manufacturers do not match in the same unit nor , for purists, in the same army. My advice is to get some samples before buying; you may discover I'm completely wrong and that Heroics & Ros are wonderful, Irregular are horrible and Baccus are ridiculous. You know how wargamers think always agree!

There are at least 4 Yahoogroups. My favorite is:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/6mm_Miniatures/

Links to manufacturers:

http://www.baccus6mm.com/
http://www.irregularminiatures.co.uk/
http://www.navwar.freeserve.co.uk/

-- Daniele Varelli